The Child
by Drusilla Lance
Summary: Previously titled as 'Spilt Blood.' Logan Tries to hide his daughter's origins.
1. Spilt Blood

Two little brown eyes peered over the countertop in awe. She watched tentatively, trying to contain the excitement within her. "Are you almost done, mommy?"  
  
"Almost," a beautiful Native American woman said as she put the finishing touches on the cake.  
  
"How most is 'almost'?" the five-year-old asked.  
  
"Just…one…more…" She made the last spread of the frosting across the cake's surface. "…Second. There. It's done." She picked up the cake and carried it into the dining room, her daughter skipping along behind her.  
  
"Can we eat it, now?"  
  
The woman giggled. "Not now, silly. Wait until daddy gets home."  
  
"An' how long izzat gonna be?" the child slurred.  
  
"Well…" The mother kneels down to her daughter's height. "Why don't you watch for him in the window while I finish up in the kitchen, okay Marnie?"  
  
"Mm-hmm!" Marnie nodded and skipped over to the window. Her mother went and took the roast she cooked from the oven. She set it on the table next to the cake. Then she went to change into something that looked nicer than what she had on.  
  
Marnie saw her mother disappear into her bedroom and walked over the birthday cake her mother made. She double checked to make sure her mom didn't see her, and when she was sure, she dipped her finger into the frosting and licked it clean. She stopped when she heard a car coming up the road by her cabin. She ran to the window and smiled brightly. "Daddy's here! Daddy's here!" she yelled as she opened the front door and ran outside. She waved her arms in the air as she ran. "DaddyDaddyDaddyDaddyDaddyDaddyDaddy!" she wailed.  
  
Her father picked her up and swung her around. "Hey pun'kin!" he said with a smile. She gave him a hug and great big wet kiss as he held her in his burly arms. "What're you so excited 'bout?" he asked.  
  
"It's your birf-day! Me an' Mommy made a cake for you." She wiggled, "Now let me down!" He put her down on the ground and she quickly grabbed his right hand into both of hers and tugged on it, walking backwards. "Come! Come! I wanna show you!" Her father laughed in delight.  
  
She led him into the cabin and into the dining room. "SeeSee?" she said as she pointed at the cake. "Just for you!" Then she remembered something. She ran to the closet and pulled out a fine, black leather jacket. It was about twice her size, so she carried it over her head to keep most of it from trailing on the floor. "Mommy got this jacket for you."  
  
Her mother overheard what she said and came out of her room dressed in short, deep crimson dress with the neckline exposing her shoulders before becoming long sleeves and her hair up. "Marnie!" she scolded. "That was supposed to be a surprise!"  
  
The child looked at her mother and then to her father. "Suh-pwise!" she said.  
  
He chuckled fussed her hair. "It's okay," he said. He turned to his wife and grabbed her around the waist. They kissed as a young couple would. "You look nice," he said as a calm growl came from his throat. She smiled.  
  
"I wanna look nice!" their little one shouted. She ran to her room. "I'm gonna put on my pretty dress!"  
  
The woman rolled her eyes. "I should go help her."  
  
Her husband tightened his grip around his lovely wife. "She's been getting' dressed by herself since she was three, Fox. Let's just have the moment for ourselves." They held each other and kissed passionately for a few minutes.  
  
Unexpectedly, a knock came from the door. They reluctantly parted from each other. "I'll get it," Fox said.  
  
Her husband stayed in the dining room. He saw the finger marks in the cake's frosting that Marnie had left. He followed her example. Suddenly he heard his wife gasp. The average person wouldn't have heard it, but with his enhanced senses, he could hear anything. His keen sense of smell detected a stink—one he prayed he'd never smell again. He ran to the front door. His eyes confirmed his worst thoughts.  
  
A man twice the size of him stood at the door, wrestling with his wife while keeping his hand over her mouth. "Hiya, runt," he said evilly. "How come I wasn't invited ta the party?"  
  
"Leggo o' her, Creed," he said. This time, the growl reverberating in his throat was one of rage, fright and hate.  
  
"Whatcha' gonna do if I don't, huh runt?" He punched Fox in the face and tore her dress off with his razor sharp claws, making sure he drew blood from the defenseless woman.  
  
"Logan!" she screamed. Creed held her by the neck and ran her head as hard as he could into the cabin's wall. She fell to the floor unconscious.  
  
Enraged, Logan leapt at her attacker. Claws emerged from the back of his hands, his blood dripping down them. He slashed Creed across the face, missing his eyes. Creed countered and ripped some flesh from his opponent. Each were mutants of similar abilities. Each began to heal at miraculous speeds. Each were holding their ground and circled each other like two scorpions in a bottle, waiting for the other's defenses to go down.  
  
Little Marnie came running from her bedroom, down the hallway and into the fight. "Mommy, can you put my hair into…" The toddler stopped dead in her tracks. Her brown eyes widened as she took in the sight that lay before her.  
  
Logan prayed for Marnie's safety, hoping he could take down Creed before anything else could happen. Parental instinct kicked in as he turned to her. "Marnie! Run! Run away! HURRY!" Creed took that opportunity to attack Logan. He flew back into the wall, being injured seriously even for his state. Creed further approached him, to finish the job.  
  
Marnie had taken off. She ran to her parents' room and opened the window. She climbed out and ran into the dark woods. It was night. There was no moon out. The thick brush of trees blocked out most of the light the stars provided. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Small branches pulled the pigtails from her black hair. Her dress ripped as it caught on the bushes. Bruises and abrasions scarred her. She would have cried, had she not been so terrified to do so.  
  
She tripped and fell headfirst onto the stony, thorny forest floor. She painstakingly tried to pick herself up. She looked up and saw Creed grinning evilly and laughing. She had time to scream. 


	2. A New Home

He lied on the exam table, tears pouring from his eyes. No one had ever seen him cry before. No one thought he was capable. He gripped his lovely wife's hand, who was crying also.  
  
Professor Xavier took off the Cerebra helmet. He bowed his head in remorse and regret. He had vowed to bring Logan's memories back and piece by tiny piece, he did. But this newly recovered memory was probably left best forgotten.  
  
Logan recovered the memory of his 27th birthday. He thought his wife, his true love, had died that day. She didn't, but was really killed by Sabretooth years later. He never knew he had a daughter. Fox probably didn't remember, either. The Weapon X program made sure of that.  
  
He had a daughter. A daughter! A daughter by blood. He had adopted two teenage girls five years ago, after he had married his new wife, Natalie. They were sweet girls he had raised even before their official adoption. He loved them, but still had a void in his heart. He always wondered why. Was it Silver Fox he was missing? Or perhaps Mariko Yashida? But after today's session with Xavier, he knew. Marnie.  
  
Natalie and his daughters, Amiko and Jubilee, had witnessed the memory thru telepathic projection. The girls were silent on their way back to their suite in the X-Mansion. Their mother consoled their father in whispers as he continued to cry. After they arrived, the girls watched TV while Logan and Natalie went to their bedroom.  
  
"I feel so awful," Logan said. His head lay on Natalie's shoulder as she ran her fingers thru his hair in attempt of calming him.  
  
"It's not your fault," his Asian rose whispered into his ear. "You didn't kill her. You tried to save her."  
  
"By telling her ta run inta the woods?"  
  
"What else could you have done?" his wife asked.  
  
Logan sat silent. She was right. He did all he could. "But not only did I let her die…I forgot her. What kinda parent forgets 'bout his own flesh an' blood?"  
  
"You didn't choose to forget. You didn't choose to be part of Weapon X. You didn't choose any of this."  
  
"That should make me feel better, huh?" He paused, trying to hold back more tears. He can't. They come pouring again. "But it still hurts…" He cringed in Natalie's arms, sobbing now. She rocked him and kissed him, not knowing what else to do.  
  
  
  
Xavier sat at his desk, rubbing his temples.  
  
"Something wrong, Professor?" a female voice asked from the opened door.  
  
He looked up and saw his first two students, Jean and Scott Summers. He sighed. "Yes. Of all the memories I have helped Logan recover, today's is one I wish I hadn't."  
  
The couple walked to his desk and sat in the chairs provided. "What happened?" Jean asked.  
  
Xavier sighed again. "Today, Logan learned he had a daughter with his first wife, Silver Fox."  
  
The couple's eyes widened. "That's wonderful," Jean said.  
  
"No, it's not," Xavier said. "Sabretooth killed her on his 27th birthday. She was only four years old."  
  
The room fell silent. Jean covered her mouth in shock. Scott stared downwards. Xavier massaged his temples again. "It was painful," he said. "Logan felt as if acid was slowly burning away his body without his healing factor to compensate. He…cried."  
  
"Wolverine? Cry?" Scott didn't know the man had tear ducts.  
  
"It was more than tears. He sobbed and moaned. He grieved beyond what any human has ever grieved. He hurt more than when you witnessed Jean kill herself."  
  
Scott remembered what that was like. He, himself, died that day as well—spiritually. He couldn't imagine what Logan felt. He didn't want to.  
  
Then an idea struck him. "Professor! We could still save his little girl!"  
  
Jean and her mentor looked at Scott curiously. "How?"  
  
"You remember when Nathan, my son and Madelyne's, was infected with the techno-organic virus as a baby?" They nodded. "We saved him by sending him to the future with Rachel. What if we could go back in time and get her before she's killed?"  
  
The other two sat silent as they absorbed this hypothesis. "It could work…" Jean said.  
  
"It could," Xavier said, "but we risk changing the course of the past and future. We could alter the Universe, as we know it. We can't chance it with that as a consequence."  
  
"That's true," Scott said. "But if we hadn't taken Nathan forward, who would have stood up to Apocalypse?"  
  
"He's right, Professor," Jean said. "For all we know, this could be the child's destiny, as well as ours."  
  
Xavier pondered the words that had been said. "I approve, however, it's Logan's decision."  
  
Scott smiled. "As a father, I don't see how he couldn't."  
  
  
  
She ran, frightened. It was night. There was no moon out. The thick brush of trees blocked out most of the light the stars provided. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Small branches pulled the pigtails from her black hair. Her dress ripped as it caught on the bushes. Bruises and abrasions scarred her. She would have cried, had she not been so terrified to do so.  
  
She tripped and fell headfirst onto the stony, thorny forest floor. She painstakingly tried to pick herself up. She looked up and saw Creed grinning evilly and laughing. She had time to scream.  
  
"I don't think so, bub!"  
  
Creed turned only to be speared thru the gut by adamantium claws. Logan twisted his claws, making sure his healing factor wouldn't mend the wound so easily. He popped Creed on the head, knocking him out.  
  
"Daddy!" little Marnie screamed, tears rolling down her face.  
  
He scooped up his little girl in his arms. She hugged him tightly and cried her little heart out. It hurt to see his daughter scruffed up and bleeding, but she was alive! That was all that mattered now. His sweet, sweet Marnie was alive! He rocked her in his arms, calming her the way he, now, remembered how to.  
  
He waited until she was calmed before he trekked back thru the woods. "Where are we goin', Daddy?"  
  
He patted her on the back gently. "Home," he said with a smile.  
  
Marnie leaned off her father's shoulder and looked at him. She pointed, "But home is that way."  
  
He smiled again. "We're going to a new home."  
  
After a few moments, they reached a bright lady inside a giant, flying, fiery bird. Marnie's brown eyes grew large and round. "Wow!" she said. Her father laughed.  
  
The radiant woman smiled. "Is this Miss Marnie?" she asked the child.  
  
"Mm-hmm!" Marnie nodded.  
  
The woman giggled. "I'm Rachel. I'm going to take you and your daddy home, okay?"  
  
"Mm-hmm!"  
  
The fiery bird known as the Phoenix enveloped the threesome and transported them from the past to the present—Marnie's new home. 


	3. Rewritten

"How is she, doc?" Logan asked worriedly.  
  
"She's doing rather well, as expected," the big, blue feline-like man said. "She needed some stitches and developed a couple infections, but nothing that modern antibiotics can't heal."  
  
"She's beautiful, Logan," Natalie said as she adored the little girl. He smiled.  
  
Suddenly, Marnie started twitching and spazzing in her sleep. She made little whiney noises. Natalie backed away and looked at her husband. "Hank, what's happening?" Logan asked, scared that something bad was about to happen.  
  
Hank watched her and took her pulse. "I don't think it's anything to be worried about. It's probably just a night terror. My kids get them quite frequently. Considering what Marnie has been thru, she'll probably have them often." He patted Logan on the shoulder and grinned. "Don't expect to get much sleep from now on. As for myself, I will, so as not to shock the dear child. Good day to you both."  
  
"Wait," Natalie said, "should we wake her?"  
  
"Nay," the Beast said. "She'll wake on her own, or the dream may just pass. Let it take it's course."  
  
The couple watched Marnie as she had her nightmare. "The poor darling," Natalie said. "I wonder what she's dreaming about…"  
  
Logan had a flashback of some of the nightmares he's had. A chill went up his spine. "I dunno. I just wish I could replace 'em with happier dreams."  
  
Marnie shot straight up and gave a long, loud, blood-curdling scream. Logan rushed to her side and held her close. Natalie sat at the foot of her hospital bed. Marnie cried, trying to tell her father about it, but not making any sense between sobs. Logan rocked her and kissed her forehead. "It's alright, darlin'. Daddy's here. Shh…"  
  
Marnie's cries eventually became shorter and softer. She wiped her tears on her father's shirt and pulled away. She looked up at him with her large, brown eyes. "Where's Mommy?"  
  
Logan looked at Natalie. She resembled Silver Fox somewhat. Black hair, brown eyes, thick lips. She was taller than Logan, just as Silver Fox was. "She's right here," he said, hoping she'd be traumatized enough to fall for his deception.  
  
Marnie looked at the woman sitting at the foot of the bed. "That's not Mommy. Mommy's eyes ain't funny lookin' like that," she said, commenting on Natalie's distinctively Japanese eyes. "An' Mommy has darker skin, 'cuz she's an Injun' Princess. That makes me an Injun' Princess, too. Mommy said." Marnie folded her arms and nodded matter-of-factly. She looked at Natalie again. "That is not Mommy!"  
  
Logan's eyes welled up. He couldn't bear to tell his sweet daughter her mother was dead. "She's…sick," he lied. "Mommy's sick."  
  
"Is Grandpa Big Bear gonna use his magic powder-stick to make her better?"  
  
A tear dripped down Logan's cheek. He nodded. "Yeah…"  
  
"Daddy? Why are you crying?" Marnie asked innocently.  
  
"I'm sad 'cuz Mommy's sick," he lied again. It hurt so much to lie to her, especially after all the lies he's been fed in his own life.  
  
"When I'm sad, Mommy gives me a kiss to make it aaaaalll better," Marnie said. She kissed her dad on the cheek. "There. Now you are all better."  
  
Logan smiled sadly.  
  
  
  
"Chuck, ya gotta help me!" Logan demanded as he slammed his fist down on Professor Xavier's desk.  
  
"It's wrong, Logan," he said calmly. "You despise those that implanted false memories into your mind, and now you want to subject your daughter to that kind of treatment?"  
  
"It's different, Chuck," Logan said. He ran his fingers thru his hair in frustration. "How do I tell her that her mother was killed?"  
  
"How about telling her the truth?" Scott said from his little corner.  
  
"You back outta this, prick-boy," Logan growled.  
  
"Or what? You're going to slice me up?" Scott retorted. "Try explaining that to your little girl, on top of everything else."  
  
Logan exposed his claws with a SNIKT! "Why don't'cha march your ass an' that stick up it outta here an' leave this 'tween me an' Xavier, 'fore I do it fer ya?!"  
  
Logan! Cyclops! Xavier shouted telepathically. That's enough!  
  
The two rivals gave each other one last nasty look before backing down. Logan retracted his claws and turned to Xavier. "Please, Professor. Spare my daughter the pain an' anguish. At least until she's old enough ta find out."  
  
Xavier bowed his head. "I'm going to regret this," he muttered under his breath.  
  
  
  
Xavier sat in Cerebra, focusing intensely on Marnie's fragile mind.  
  
Logan, Natalie and their two daughters watched the child sleep as the Professor rewrote her memories. They hoped it worked.  
  
After nearly an hour of waiting and concentrating, Xavier exited his psionic chamber. "Well?" Logan asked eagerly.  
  
"I've done as you've asked," Xavier said. "I've replaced Marnie's memories of Silver Fox with those of Natalie and inserted Amiko and Jubilation into her memories. Her memories of the attack made by Sabretooth have been erased, as well.  
  
"Now, when I say 'erased' and 'replaced', it doesn't mean she won't entirely forget. She may have nightmares of the attack and dreams of her birth mother. There's a also a slight chance she may regain these memories at some point in time."  
  
"Thanks, Chuck. I really appreciate it," Logan said sincerely.  
  
Scott approached Logan and Natalie and handed them some documents. "Here are the papers we've managed to create for Marnie. Social Security, birth certificate, the whole bit." He began to walk away, but turned around. "I have to say, Logan, I don't approve of this. It's wrong."  
  
"Who asked you, bub?" At that remark, Scott departed.  
  
Logan turned to his family. "Okay, here's the deal: I want Marnie ta grow up a normal kid. The story is, after me an' Nat were married an' adopted you two kiddos, we moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was born there an' we've lived there ever since. I worked as a lumberjack--"  
  
"So we're moving to Canada?" Amiko asked.  
  
Logan nodded. "No one—no one—is ta tell her 'bout her origins. We never time traveled. Silver Fox an' Sabretooth never existed. No one here's a mutant. The only thing she'll know 'bout the X-Men is what she hears on TV—"  
  
"Whoa! Wait. Just. A. Second!" Jubilee exclaimed. "So not only is Marnie's history gonna be rewritten, but mine is, too?! First you're gonna take me away from all my friends here and now you're gonna pretend I never had 'em at all?! That is soooo unfair! If you wanna pretend you were never an X-Man, Dad, go right ahead, but I'm not! I'm proud to be an X-Man and ain't no one's gonna take that away from me, not even you!"  
  
"Jubes, this ain't the time—"  
  
Natalie stepped between her husband and her eldest daughter to avoid a potential fight. She turned to Logan. "She's right. We shouldn't take the girls' life away. I'll go along with it, but we shouldn't force them to."  
  
"You got a better idea?" Logan asked.  
  
"I do, in fact," Natalie said. "I think we can compromise.  
  
"We found an orphaned Jubilee hiding in the lumberyard. We took her in after we married. She developed her mutation, so we sent her to the famed Xavier Academy, where she joined the X-Men and later Generation X. Seeing as how her studies are unfinished, she can stay here.  
  
"Amiko's mother was a friend of yours. She died. You supported her while another friend, Yukio, took care of her. After you married me, you were more confident in being able to raise her properly.  
  
"It covers up your trail, Logan, but still allows the girls to keep most of their history true. What do you think?"  
  
Logan nodded. "S'okay."  
  
"I like it," Amiko chimed.  
  
Everyone looked at Jubilee, awaiting her answer. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, I guess…"  
  
Natalie smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Hank McCoy entered. "Logan? Marnie is awake and asking for you."  
  
Logan took his wife's hand. "Ready, 'Mommy?'" Natalie nodded.  
  
Logan entered the hospital room first. Marnie smiled. "Hi, Daddy! Did the doctors make Mommy better?"  
  
"See fer yerself, pun'kin."  
  
Natalie walked in and smiled. "Hi, baby," she said a bit nervously.  
  
"Mommy!" Marnie squealed with delight. She hopped off her bed and ran over to Natalie. Natalie picked up her new daughter. Marnie squeezed her tightly. She let go and looked at her mother. "I am happy Doctor BlueKitty made you aaaaaalll better!"  
  
Natalie giggled. "So am I!"  
  
"Mommy?"  
  
"Hm?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Now that you are all better, can we go to the park and play?"  
  
Natalie smiled and looked to her husband. "I don't see why not."  
  
"Yeaaaa!"  
  
The three left the underground hospital the Xavier Mansion housed. Logan was very pleased that Xavier's treatment had worked. 


End file.
